For Next Week...
April 17, 2020
Dear ASB Families,
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and relaxing first week of break with your families. The sun has been an added bonus for sure!
As we head into this second week of break, teachers will be gearing up for the remainder of the year and our continued digital learning experience. We will be reviewing our current protocols and planning for both learning and connection in the weeks to come.
Here are a list of projects and resources for those looking to do some learning in the coming week. I’ve put these together with all ages in mind and hope they can provide some fun activities for students while honing creative and critical thinking skills. These are also linked on our website.
Going into the rest of the year, I want to share a few bits of food for thought…
First, as the state superintendent said recently, in the total PK-8 experience, over 1,000 hours per year times nine years, this is a very small portion of your child’s education. It won’t be perfect and won’t always be easy, but that’s ok.
Second, I shared this Facebook post with staff last week. I know some of them also shared in their Friday newsletters. This is a great perspective for us to have as parents.
Schools have been out for almost three weeks and if we go back April 28th, we would be out for over six weeks. If they cancel the rest of the school year, students would miss 2.5 months of education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education...
But what if...
What if instead of falling “behind", this group of kids are ADVANCED because of this? Hear me out.
What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing?
What if they enjoy the simple things, like their own backyard and sitting near a window in the quiet?
What if they notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower?
What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well-run home?
What if they learn to stretch a dollar and to live with less?
What if they learn to plan shopping trips and meals at home?
What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday?
What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public servants and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, bankers, cashiers, custodians, logistics, and health care workers and their supporting staff, just to name a few of the millions taking care of us right now while we are sheltered in place?
What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and a simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?
What if they are AHEAD?
I hope we all can continue to look at the ways to find opportunity in this time of challenge, to help build our own resilience as well as our children’s resilience, to think creatively, to purposefully practice gratitude, and have faith that God never gives us more than we can handle.
Enjoy the next week, Bulldogs!
Kathleen Conklin
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